Examining Human Costs of Mountaintop Removal Mining in Appalachia

We flip on the switch, read a book or run our computer all evening and don’t give it a second thought. We don’t even ask what it took to make that happen. Bumper stickers remind me “Coal, It Keeps the Lights On,” and I can’t argue with the truth in that. Businesses and individuals feel intrinsically they need to “support coal” and its jobs, and they proudly display signs saying so in the tiny town of Appalachia, Virginia. It may take an up-close look at exactly what it means to extract coal these days from the ancient mountains of Appalachia to see that we’re literally destroying the earth for short-term gain.

It was difficult to hear accounts of young lives lost and at risk in poor communities near mountaintop removal mining. The industry disputes any health connection.

Residents in several Appalachian states have been calling for better air, water and forest protections for the mountain region for years.

Coalfields are becoming a new sort of mission field for Christian college students who are gathering health data about residents near MTR activities.

Discovering your connection to MTR is easy. What you do about it, is up to you.